Airbnb makes foray into events with meeting planner tool

Airbnb for Events is the first concentrated maneuver from the platform to officially enter the event space – and one that hotels hosting conferences surely aren’t too happy about.

Airbnb is out to conquer yet another corner of the travel market with the launch of a new tool for meeting and event planners.

Airbnb for Events is the first concentrated maneuver from the platform to officially enter the event space – and one that hotels hosting conferences surely aren’t too happy about.

With Airbnb for Events, event organisers - ranging from corporate event to concert arrangers - can create an interactive map of Airbnb listings located near their venues.

The map can be embedded directly into event websites, and Airbnb will also have a personalised landing page for each event on the site to assist in planners’ marketing efforts.

Mapping it outThe idea is to give conference attendees a greater selection of nearby accommodations and to allow them to see cities from a local perspective – the Airbnb mantra around all its endeavors.

It’s also designed to mitigate the effects of large crowds that events typically draw - harkening back to the creation of Airbnb by its founders who wanted to provide accommodation for attendees at events in their hometown of San Francisco.

Currently, for corporate travel companies, the service does not integrate with Airbnb’s third-party booking tool.

In addition to events, Airbnb is integrating the interactive listings map with other companies such as ticketing platforms, wedding sites, trip-planning platforms and city guides. Initial partners include Insider, Inspirock, Picatic, RSVPify, Taquilla and WeddingWire.

Airbnb says it has "conceptually" worked on similar ideas in the past with companies such as Stay22, which produced maps with listings for event websites and also includes suppliers such as Expedia and Booking.com.

Airbnb for Events is its first embeddable widget and app that's scalable, and the self-service technology is available to any planner globally.

Hotel perspectiveFor hotels - particularly those hosting meetings and events - Airbnb for Events spells less-than-great news, as it takes attendees out of their properties and into alternative accommodations.

On the other hand, properties that list through Airbnb - under its newly developed partnership with Siteminder - will be included in the new listings maps alongside Homes.

The introduction of Airbnb for Events follows the launch of its Experiences product some 18 months ago - at the time, the first significant shift from the brand's core business of allowing hosts to share their properties.

It also comes two months on from a string of new initiatives including the launch of Airbnb Plus.